Method and apparatus for track working



July 1968 J. K. STEWART METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRACK WORKING FiledJuly 12, 1965 w 2W W K w k w r QM kw ou QM k. .U l n. .Ww air k. W Q Q QW N 1|.- 1 w w 1 1 W. umMl\ltu- U QN mKwW QM mew/s United States Patent3 Claims. Cl. 104-7 This invention relates to a method and means forrailroad track alignment. It has been the practice in railroad trackworking operations, such as maintaining operations, to tamp the ballastbeneath the ties of the track to consolidate the track. It is also thepractice where a track has had low spots formed therein due to wear bytrafiic, to jack portions of the track, where it has sagged, to therequired height and to tamp the ballast beneath the track so jacked tocompact the ballast and thereby consolidate the track at its requiredlevel.

It has then been the procedure to follow the tamping machines with atrack aligning device, or liner. This device, following behind thetamping machines, throws the track laterally to align the track in ahorizontal plane. The liner device may Work to an established reference,say for example a wire reference such as that described in United StatesPatent No. 2,962,979 or United States Patout No. 3,165,838.

The present invention provides in a railroad track working method whichincludes the step of tamping the track, the improvement which comprisesthe step of laterally aligning the track in a horizontal plane whilstperforming the tamping operation, i.e., prior to completion of thetamping operation.

The present invention also provides apparatus for working railroad trackcomprising a wheeled vehicle, tamping means on the vehicle to tamp thetrack; means for determining the state of the lateral track alignment;and track throwing jacks attached to the vvehicle at a point in front ofthe tamping means and adapted to throw the track laterally during atrack tamping operation.

Preferably the track aligning operation is performed during a tampingoperation.

According to a further feature of the invention the aligning operationmay suitably be performed during a vertical jacking and tampingoperation at the aforesaid point.

Thus by the present method applicant avoids the disadvantage inherentuntil now in track working operations of tamping the track in oneposition until it is consolidated and thereafter shifting the track toanother position. Also, with prior methods the track which had just beenjacked to a correction height and tamped at that corrected height wasthen moved to another position with a subsequent disturbance in theheight of the track, again this disadvantage is overcome.

Furthermore the tendency which existed with the prior methods for thenewly horizontally aligned track to be moved back to the position whereit was before correction, by the first train to pass over the track, nolonger exists with the present invention. Rather with the presentinvention, the first train to pass over the track consolidates the trackin its corrected position to a further extent.

When using the invention the horizontal vibration action of the tampingheads, during the tamping operation, causes the ballast in the immediatevicinity of the tamping operation to enter into a fluid state, thereforemaking it much easier to align the track in the immediate vicinitythereof.

In the schematic drawing which accompanies this specification there isdiagrammatically illustrated a device in accordance with the presentinvention as used with a suit- Patented July 9, 1968 able trackalignment condition sensing apparatus. Since the exact nature of thealignment condition sensing apparatus forms no real part of the presentinvention, and any suitable alignment condition sensing means as knownin the art could be utilized, applicant will not herein describe 'thispart of the apparatus in detail. Turning to the drawing, a leadingself-propelled satellite car 10, having an infrared projector 11 thereonadapted to project a cone of infrared radiation longitudinally of thetrack and being biased against the rail R, precedes, in operation, thetamping vehicle 12 by say, ft. A trailing car 15, also biased againstthe rail R, is connected by a link 17 to the tamping vehicle 12. Aninfrared beam receiver 18 is mounted on the trailing car 15 and isadapted to receive the transmitted beam. A shadow element 20 isfloatingly mounted on the tamping vehicle 12, or the track aligningstation A and is spring biased against the rail R.

The infrared projector 11 projects a reference cone of infraredradiation adjacent the grade rail G and the shadow element 20 cooperateswith the infrared receiver 18 to determine the distance which the trackhas to be laterally thrown in a suitable manner. As will hereinafterbecome apparent any suitable electronic means (not shown) provides acommand signal for a track aligning jack 32 on the vehicle 12 to throwthe track to align it in a horizontal plane.

On the vehicle 12 there is provided a vertical jacking and tampingstation T at which is externally mounted on the vehicle 12 a pair ofballast engaging jacks 26 and 27 which, in conjunction with railengaging clamps which operate to grasp the rails, jack the track to apredetermined height determined, for example by an infrared system suchas described in United States Patent No. 3,- 144,834. During the tampingoperation tamping heads shown schematically at 30 enter into the ballaston either side of the tie beneath the vertically jacked portion of therail and vibrate the ballast with a high frequency low ainplitudeoscillation to cause the ballast to flow. When the tamping heads haveentered the required depth into the ballast they squeeze the ballastbeneath the aforementioned tie to compact the ballast therebeneath.

At the aligning station A the hydraulic aligning jack 32 is mountedbeneath the vehicle 12 and extends transversely of the track. The jack32 is preferably double acting and has outwardly extending jack rods 33and 34 terminating in rail engaging clamps 35 and 36. The alignment ofthe track in the horizontal plane, that is the transverse throwing ofthe track, is accomplished by grasping the rail G and the rail R withthe clamps 35 and 36 and admitting hydraulic pressure to the jack 32 tolaterally force the track to the correct transverse alignment position.The aligning operation is sequenced with the operation of the tampingeads 39 such that the aligning operation is performed before or duringthe tamping operation.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the aligningoperation is accomplished during the vertical jacking and tampingoperation that is to say during the time that the ballast is in a fluidstate. The rail engaging clamps which cooperate with the verticallifting jacks 26, 27 are, in the preferred embodiment of the apparatusaccording to the invention, one and the same with the clamps 35 and 36and which are operable to grasp the rails for vertical jacking of thetrack even when an alignment operation is not required.

The jack 32 being a double acting jack, it can be arranged to receivecommand signals to throw right or throw left" depending upon whether ornot the receiver 18 is exposed to the transmitter or shadowed, therefrom(or vice versa). Thus, a conventional switching arrangement or controlmechanism could be employed to cause the jack 32 to work in onedirection or the other depending on whether or not the misalignment ofthe track caused the shadow element 20 to obscure the receiver 18 fromthe transmitted beam or allow it to receive the transmitted beam. Thusthe jack 32 would be maintained more or less in a hunting condition.

Although the drawing herewith shows the cylinder 32 positioned in frontof the tamping heads 30 it will be appreciated that the cylinder 32could be located somewhat to the rear of the tamping heads and stillobtain a certain amount of the advantage of the fluidity of the ballastduring tamping. Thus the aligning can be done in the immediate vicinityof the tamping operation and is always concluded before theconsolidation of the ballast by the tamping heads 30.

I claim:

1. In a railroad track working method including the steps of tamping atrack with'vibratory tamping heads located on a tamping machine andhaving horizontal vibrating movement in the track ballast and aligningthe track in a horizontal plane with aligning apparatus associated withthe tamping machine and located, at least in part, in the vicinity ofthe tamping heads, the improvement which comprises performing said stepof aligning the track in a horizontal plane during said tamping.

2. In a railroad track working method including the steps of tamping atrack with vibratory tamping heads located on a tamping machine andhaving horizontal vibrating movement in the track ballast, aligning thetrack in a horizontal plane with aligning apparatus associated with 4the tamping machine and located, at least in part, in the vicinity ofthe tamping heads, and vertically jacking the track by means of jacks onthe tamping machine, the improvement which comprises performing saidsteps of aligning the track in a horizontal plane and vertically jackingthe track during said tamping.

3. In arailroad track working method including the steps of tamping atrack with vibratory tamping heads located on a tamping machine andhaving horizontal vibrating movement in the track ballast, clamping thetrack to the tamping machine by means carried on the tamping machine,aligning the track in a horizontal plane with aligning apparatusassociated with the tamping machine and located, at least in part, inthe vicinity of the tamping heads, and vertically jacking the track bymeans of jacks on the tamping machine, the improvement which comprisesperforming said steps of aligning the track in a horizontal plane andvertically jacking the track while the track is clamped to the tampingmachine and during said tamping.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,134,339 5/1964 Plasser et a1.104-7 3,144,834 8/1964 Stewart 1047 3,240,161 3/1966 Belau et al 1048ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A RAILROAD TRACK WORKING METHOD INCLUDING THE STEPS OF TAMPING ATRACK WITH VIBRATORY TAMPING HEADS LOCATED ON A TAMPING MACHINE ANDHAVING HORIZONTAL VIBRATING MOVEMENT IN THE TRACK BALLAST AND ALIGNINGTHE TRACK IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE WITH ALIGNING APPARATUS ASSOCIATED WITHTHE TAMPING MACHINE AND LOCATED, AT LEAST IN PART, IN THE VICINITY OFTHE TAMPING HEADS, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES PERFORMING SAID STEPOF ALIGNING THE TRACK IN A HORIZONTAL PLANE DURING SAID TAMPING.